Yang Mu
A leading figure in Taiwan’s literature scene, Yang Mu is regarded as one of the most important Chinese poets writing today. He’s the subject of “Toward the Completion of a Poem,” an episode of the six-part literary film series “The Inspired Island,” which is centered on the works and lives of six influential Taiwanese writers. The Hualien native, together with the film’s director Wen Chih-yi, sit down with Penny Zhou to talk about the making of the film and literature in Taiwan.
HK Magazine: What’s the idea behind the whole project?
Wen Chih-yi: “The Inspired Island” is a project with the aim of introducing the audience to some of the most well-known Taiwanese writers—both their works and themselves. Through this series, we want the new generation of Taiwanese youth, who love the internet—but books, probably not so much—to learn about Taiwanese literature, and hopefully become interested in it and start reading more.
It’s a big team effort and we went through two years of preparation. There’s a lot of pressure on me to make a film about such a master of literature [like Yang], but our producers and screenwriter had a very good vision and were very helpful.
HK: Were you familiar with Mr. Yang’s work before?
Wen: Sort of. Back in high school his poems and prose were included in textbooks. But making a film about him is another thing, and I had to do a lot of homework. Our main focus here is the process of the creation of his work—hence the title of the film—which involves the transitions of his style and the ideology behind his work.
And because of the long span of Mr. Yang’s career and the various formats and topics of his literary work, we encountered some challenges in the filming process. Finally we found an angle that we think best presents him, which is to follow his academic path from a literature student to a professional writer and educator.
HK: Were you surprised when you were approached, Mr. Yang?
Yang Mu: I wasn’t very happy about it at first, to be honest. [Laughs] There were a couple of similar projects about me done by other filmmakers before and I always got impatient and annoyed while doing them. I mean, I liked the filmmakers but appearing in front of a camera just wasn’t my thing. But this time, the team came to me with this new idea and sincerity.
Wen and the screenwriter even studied in my class for half a year. It made me believe that they understood my ideas about literature, so I agreed to get on board. I saw the final product once and it was a pleasant watch. I don’t know how they managed to get all those students and friends of mine to talk about me and dig out footage taken some 20 years ago—I’m impressed and touched by how devoted the crew was in collecting and constructing all the information.